Like this:

Last week, usindiamonitor conducted its first-ever video interview with Priya Pandya, co-founder and CEO of Doonya, a fitness company flavored by Bollywood music and dance movements at its core. Doonya just opened its first studio in Manhattan for teaching fitness classes, so this was a great time for a visit and a chat.

In college Priya and I both participated in Georgetown South Asian Society’s Rangila cultural show, a tradition of song, dance, and acting variety that began in the mid-90’s and continues to this day. Priya’s Doonya bio describes her as “the cutest, kindest hulk there is!” Not sure I saw the hulk part emerge, but judge for yourself. Her screen presence, both in the interview and while teaching dance moves, is indeed commanding and self-assured. And yes, she convinced me to do some dance moves, so if you’re looking for comic relief that’s in there, too. The workouts are both rigorous and fun, that rarest of combinations. Small wonder that Doonya has appeared on Oprah and Good Morning America, or made the Desiclub 50 Coolest Desis list.

Doonya was co-founded by Priya and Kajal Desai. Besides the classes, Doonya offers fitness DVDs, nutritional advice, and training to become a Doonya dance instructor. Priya and Kajal are also Reebok Global Ambassadors, giving them additional reach internationally.

“Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big-league ball players and the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Battle is the most significant competition in which a man can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.”

— U.S. General George S. Patton, 1944

America’s unrivaled military power today is both a blessing and a curse. The nation was forged violently at birth during the overthrow of the British government. The Revolution drew on the rugged frontier culture of the colonial times. That culture is deeply ingrained in U.S. DNA to this day. The Redcoats left because the rebels butchered them up lovely, not because of any respect for the principles of the revolutionaries. An unbroken string of average Americans from 1776 till today, deep down inside have never stopped believing that butchery is the answer to any external threat. Therefore, Americans have always elected leaders from both parties who support a strong defense, while the most powerful military machine in the world is made up of volunteers only.

Unrivaled military power is a blessing because the United States won’t suffer the ignominy of a military defeat anytime soon. But the curse is just as considerable and profound: as a giant hammer, the United States looks around at the world and sees a bunch of nails. The great paradox of our time is that the gravest threats are far more complicated than nails that simply require a good pounding. Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL) is a prime example. Read the rest of this entry →